Fears
by ColorLikeWhoa
Summary: "He was at the docks, where he spent most of his time these days. Right at the edge, over the clear blue ocean, pushing and pulling beneath him. He used to feel connected to the crashing waves, but now there was nothing. So close to the water, and yet so far." Korra tries to comfort Tahno by distracting him from his fears. Bad attempt at fluff. Tahorra. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: After turning into a complete Tahorra freak, I decided I should try writing some. And because of my inability to write anything even remotely romantic, this is what happened. If you even consider this Tahorra.**

**Blah, blah, blah, Korra comforts Tahno (And we've _never_ seen that before, have we?/sarcasm) **

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Tahno didn't like thinking of _that_ day.

But every time he let his mind wander, or closed his eyes, that was all he could think of. It was a blur, with images of probending and beating a certain Avatar, and then a mask covering two menacing red eyes.

He felt himself shake visibly, and could not will himself to stop. His vision clouded, eyes glistening with tears, so he shut them tight.

"Tahno." _Her_ voice, soft but confident, broke through his thoughts.

He didn't open his eyes. "What do you want, Uh-vatar?" All the cockiness and force was gone from his voice, leaving it weak and pathetic.

She ignored his mispronunciation, and he felt her sit down next to him.

He was at the docks, where he spent most of his time these days. Right at the edge, over the clear blue ocean, pushing and pulling beneath him. He used to feel connected to the crashing waves, but now there was nothing. So close to the water, and yet so far.

"You know, Tenzin told me that the first step to overcoming your fears is to admit them."

Tahno clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging deep into his skin. "I'm not afraid. Why should I listen to that bullsh-" He cut off suddenly when he felt Korra take his closed fist by the wrist. Her touch was smooth, which was the opposite of her personality.

She shook it gently, as if wanting him to loosen up. When that didn't work, she held his fist in two hands, staring at the pale skin beneath her fingers. "I almost got my bending taken away," she murmured.

Tahno looked down at the glistening water. "Don't-"

She spoke over him. "That was the scariest moment of my life. I didn't even want to consider living without my bending. I'd be nothing without it."

Something sparked in Tahno. "If this is your way of cheering me up, it's not working," he snapped, sounding a bit like his old self. _Maybe that's her plan_, he thought.

Korra laughed lightly at his words. "Cool it, Pretty Boy."

Her laugh wasn't the petty giggle that he usually received from girls. It was genuine and bold, much like Korra herself. It was nice.

"Anyway," Tahno continued with his false bravado. "Why are you here? To sympathize with poor Tahno? I don't need your pity."

Korra looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling. "I'm not here to pity you. I'm here to help," she stated simply.

"Well, you're not, so you might as well leave."

He watched as Korra's smile faltered, and he regretted his words instantly.

_Say something, fool!_ he thought. He had a plethora of pickup lines he could use, and on any other girl, it would elicit a smile.

But Korra was not any other girl, and he was utterly confused by her. She was like the weather, bold and fiery one minute, calm and gentle the next.

"You know," Tahno finally said, "I wasn't born in Republic City. And I'm not from the Southern Water Tribe, like you."

He could've slapped himself at his random statement, but Korra stared at him interestedly. "Where are you from, then?"

Without warning, Tahno found himself spilling his life story to her. His early beginnings in the Northern Water Tribe, his parents, how he was bullied in school, how he learned waterbending to get revenge, and how he never got over his parents' deaths and escaped to the city because of that.

He told her every single one of his fears, except the most recent (_Amon_, the back of his mind whispered, but he ignored those thoughts for once).

Somewhere in between his tale, he had entwined his fingers with hers, and held her hand tightly as he talked.

After a while, he stopped talking, and stared at Korra, who was still looking at their hands. She was pretty, no doubt, but in a subtle way. She looked strong and muscular from afar, and was unquestionably stronger than most, but her strength was almost a façade. She looked especially fragile now, her eyes wide and radiant.

She was an enigma, he concluded. She acted like she didn't care for anyone or anything, but had just helped him keep his mind off of what scared him most.

He decided to help her.

"Enough about me," he said, straining to keep his tone light. "What about you?"

"Me?" she chuckled. "What's there to talk about?"

"What? The ever-illustrious Uh-vatar doesn't have an amazing life story to tell?"

She laughed again, and Tahno felt something leap inside of him. "Not really. Anyway, I have to get going. Avatar training and all that."

"Korra," he said, unaware to the fact that he'd never called her that before.

She looked up at him, and he tried a smile. "Thank you."

She blinked, and then got up, pulling him up to. "Um... no problem."

He let go of her hand, ignoring the strange feeling in his stomach.

"Same time tomorrow?" she joked.

"Count on it," he said in all seriousness.

She nodded, and left.

Feeling oddly content, Tahno sat down, letting his feet trail in the water below.

It was the first time he hadn't lingered over _that_ day.

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**So... review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Whelp. I'm back. Tahno has mood swings in this one.**

**I guess this is just going to be like a bunch of Tahorra drabbles mainly on this pier. Maybe. I don't know. Should I?**

**Disclaimer: Nah, brah, I don't own Legend of Korra.**

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"So… where did you learn your bending?" Korra asked abruptly. She doesn't even need to look at Tahno to know that he was probably sending her a death glare.

There was an awkward silence for the next few minutes, with only the sloshing of the ocean beneath them and the distant city noise to fill it. "Okay, okay," she allowed. "Nevermind."

Tahno had definitely changed. Although she'd only known him for about 40 minutes as her rival in the probending final, she'd already pinned him as the sleazy, deceitful player.

And this time, she was glad to admit that she was wrong.

He had his moments of rare kindness and actual thoughtfulness, but he tried to hide them under his playboy mask. And the more emotion he accidentally leaked through, the more he hid.

"Can I ask you something?" Tahno said quietly. His eyes were a steel gray, under dull, limp hair.

"Sure."

"Where did you grow up?"

Korra couldn't help but smile at the caution in his voice. "All over the world," she replied truthfully. "But mostly in the Southern Water tribe."

He nodded, as if that answer satisfied him. She wanted to prod him, ask him where _he_ grew up, but refrained from it.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until Korra got bored. "Do you wanna do something?"

Tahno just shot her a look. "I am doing something."

"You're sitting at the edge of a pier, staring depressedly out into the water. You're _brooding_." Korra poked his side lightly, and watched him flinch at her touch.

He frowned. "Depressedly is not a word," was his only comeback.

Korra crinkled her noise and stuck her tongue out at him childishly, and received a small laugh from him.

She'd accomplished her favorite task of cheering him up. "Come on," she urged. "Let's do something _fun_."

She got up to her feet, and held out a hand for him to get up as well.

He sighed, and ignored her gesture, instead bringing his knees up to his body and wrapping his arms around them tightly. "Go on without me."

Korra just put her hands on her hips, and started tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm not going to leave unless you get up."

Tahno stared out into the rippling water, pointedly ignoring her.

Korra quickly got bored, and finally threw her hands up in frustration. "Fine! I give up." She sat back down next to Tahno. "Killjoy," she muttered, her voice sounding more childish than ever. And to add to her immaturity, she reached at the water and splashed Tahno.

She knew instantly that she'd gone too far, as Tahno recoiled at the water, distress in his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it, I-" She was interrupted as a wave of water hit her in the face. "HEY!"

Tahno let out a booming laugh, his eyes twinkling.

Korra wiped her face and tried to look annoyed. "Did you splash me?" she pouted.

Tahno smirked, looking a lot like when she'd first seen him at the noodle restaurant. "Maybe."

She bumped her shoulder into his, and he responded by bravely flinging his arm around her shoulders. "You know something, Uh-vatar? You are the most immature person I know."

Korra looked up at his face, which was the happiest she'd ever seen him.

She grinned shamelessly. "You are too."

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**Review, brahskis, review!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I have such a non-existent love life that I'm forced to write fluff and wish it happened to me instead. _What is wrong with me?_**

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"So, what's new, sweetheart?"

Korra grinned. _Sweetheart_ was new. Tahno hadn't acted like his old flirtatious self in a while.

"Oh, me? Not much..." She'd had a lot going on, actually. Airbending training, for one. Also, Mako'd been riding Bolin and her about practicing for pro-bending, too, even though pro-bending had been virtually exterminated. Not to mention she was still part of Tarrlok's dumb task force.

"Don't lie," Tahno said easily.

He sounded a lot better than usual, Korra noted. Had she really helped?

"Lie? What- Why would I lie?" she replied distractedly, twirling her finger in the ocean. She leaned back, sitting with one leg up.

"I know that you've been training. What you're not telling me because it had to do with bending?" He put his hand on his heart, smiling mockingly. "I'm hurt."

She laughed. "Okay. I've been airbending training. Its hard work."

"Ah," Tahno nodded. "Uh-vatar business."

"It's Avatar."

He only smirked. "So, you can't airbend yet, _Avatar_?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't rub it in, Pretty Boy."

"What? That you can't bend an element? Wow. Isn't that just a shame," he drawled.

She punched him in the shoulder, but mumbled an apology along with it.

Tahno rubbed his shoulder, still smirking. "Tell me- Why can't you airbend?"

Korra shrugged. "Apparently, I'm not connected to the 'spiritual side' of being an Avatar yet, which is what all airbenders should be."

"So you're not like me. You can _learn_ to be an airbender." Did she detect a hint of bitterness in his tone?

"No," she disagreed. "I can't. I mean," she let out an exasperated sigh before continuing, "I know all the moves, I know the forms and the techniques, and I know how to meditate, but when I comes right down to it_, I can't airbend_."

"Wow." Tahno fingered his hair, which he'd actually bothered to do this morning. "I didn't know you, of all people, were having trouble with bending, kid."

"I'm sorry," Korra frowned. "You shouldn't have to hear about me and my life."

"I don't mind," Tahno whispered, so low that Korra couldn't tell if he'd actually said it.

She shot a glance his way, and met two pale gray eyes. His eyes didn't look like most waterbenders' eyes, but she could detect hints of cobalt blue in them. They looked like the ocean on an overcast day, right before a bad storm. "Are you..." she hesitated. "Do you feel better?"

His eyes narrowed at her words, letting her know that he'd noticed the pity leaking through her voice.

"I'm ok. No waterbending? It's fine. I'm fine," Tahno said, dropping his gaze from her. His hands were in fists again.

His mood swings were getting more drastic by the day, Korra noted.

She took some water from the ocean, bending it to surround her hand. It started glowing bright blue. "Maybe some healing-"

Tahno reached out swiftly and knocked her hand away, dropping the water. "No. That won't work. I've been to best healers in the city, remember?"

Korra tried not to look staggered at his harsh tone. "It won't help your waterbending, but it'll help your pain."

Tahno shook his head violently.

"Let me help you, Pretty Boy," she said softly.

Tahno sighed, and relented, facing her. "Fine. Heal me."

She smiled, and touched his cheek, not noticing the look of shock that Tahno's face had taken at her fingers. He reached out to hold her fingers, but she let go quickly and turned to get some water to heal him.

They both ignored the soaring feeling in their stomachs.

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**Review, please?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Last chapter, woot woot. **

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Tahno stayed on the pier.

He wasn't stupid; he knew that Republic City was in the midst of a war. But what were the equalists going to do to him? He had nothing to lose.

And then, of all people, the Avatar saved the day. Amon and Tarlokk were missing, all the equalists had gone into hiding, and Republic City burst into celebration.

Tahno didn't care for their happiness. Eventually, someone would realize that, even though the big bad monster was gone, it didn't mean that they were safe. The idea was embedded deep in too many brains. Whispers of 'revolution' and 'equality for all' can't be erased from their heads. So Tahno stayed far away, on his little spot on the pier, where no one could bother him.

And yet, she visited him again.

* * *

He heard her distinct footsteps nearing him, but didn't bother to look up. "You came back," he said.

If she was surprised that he recognized her, she didn't say. "How's it going, Tahno?"

He shrugged. "Heard you stopped Amon, but you lost your bending." Word gets around, even to him. He'd heard from a homeless man that Amon had taken her bending, but she unlocked airbending. Then she beat up Amon and disappeared to the South Pole.

She grinned toothily at his words. "Not quite."

He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her. She sounded way too cheery to have lost something so close to her. Her grin only widened, and she merely put out her hand, palm first. Immediately, a small flame sprung to life.

He laughed dryly. "Should've known." He wasn't jealous of her, he told himself. He should be happy for the Avatar, who always wins, because she's just so _important_. "Congratulations," he tacked on, not even trying to keep the bitter tone out of his voice.

She stood then, and Tahno figured she was going to leave and probably never come back. She had places to go, people to see. She was going to walk away, let him sulk on his own for the rest of his life. (And, as much as he tried to convince himself it wasn't true, that her leaving would be for the best, he knew that he didn't want her to go.)

But instead, she put her hands on her hips and smiled down at him with all of the cockiness that he'd ever seen in her while probending.

"Here." She held out her hand. "Face me."

Tahno twisted his head to look at her. "What are you-?"

She interrupted him by gently placing one hand on his heard and the other on his forehead. He was confused; her motions just weren't registering in her brain. She looked terrifyingly similar to Amon, at that moment.

"Is this some kind of sick-?"

Her eyes flew open, glowing bright blue, and Tahno watched in fascination. She took a deep breath in, then out, and Tahno found himself following her. All at once, the glow disappeared and she removed her hands.

"Bend." Her words were soft, but he heard her.

Tahno stood to face her. "I can't," he stated simply.

"You can!" She sounded so genuine, and his heart ached. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to listen to her every word and lose himself in every fairytale she wove.

Swiftly, she bent a whip of water at his face. What happened next was instinctual. He didn't even pause, didn't hesitate, didn't think. He reached up, and _bent_ the water to a standstill.

For the first time in so long, Tahno laughed in awe. He gazed at the water, and then turned to the girl in front of him. She was grinning from ear to ear, her blue eyes sparkling.

And what Tahno did next was even more impulsive than before.

He leaned over, never leaving her gaze, and kissed her softly. Her lips tasted like the salty sea, and Tahno pulled away, long enough to smile at her once more. "Thank you, Korra."

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**The ending makes no sense. I know. The title and theme aren't even loosely connected to it. But I don't want to leave this unfinished, so read my half-ass ending and don't even bother reviewing it. Goodbye!**


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